by Larry Eder
photo by Photorun.net
Saturday’s opening session was all about Christophe Lemaitre. This is only my second time watching him run, and he is a sprinter in the rough. This young man has real wheels, and it should be interesting to see him in the rounds. Also, Teddy Tamgho is doing the long jump/triple jump double, which is strangely interesting. More to come…..
2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
Paris-Bercy, France
March 5, 2011
Day 2, Session 1
Lemaitre in 2010 Euro Champs, photo by Photorun.net.
60 Meters, Men, Qualifying
heat 1
Pascal Mancini of Switzerland won here in 6.61, pb. Brian Mariano of the Netherlands was second in 6.68, Rytis Sakalaurskas of Lithuania was third in 6.70, with Libor Zilka in fourth (6.71-Czech Republic) and Michael Tumi of Italy (6.72). All move on to the next round.
heat 2
Francis Obikwelu of Portugal ran a seasonal best here of 6.61 to win. Martial Mbandjock of France ran 6.66, his seasonal best for second. Emanuelle Di Gregorio of Italy ran 6.70 for third and Ivan Mocholi of Spain was fourth in 6.74. All moved on.
heat 3
Christophe Lemaitre, 2011 Euro Indoors, photo by PhotoRun.net
Christophe Lemaitre of France won here, starting out slow and then he was off, winning in 6.59. Lemaitre is fastest of the field. Cedric Nase of Switzerland ran 6.64, his personal best for second. Amaido Abrantes of Portugal ran 6.65, his pb, in third. Ryan Moseley of Austria ran 6.69, his seasonal best, for fourth. And Jan Veleba of the Czech Republic ran 6.69 for fifth. All five moved to the next round.
heat 4
Ronalds Arajs of Latvia ran 6.70 for first, Joel Fearon of Great Britain ran 6.70 for second, Patrick Van Luijk of the Netherlands ran 6.71 for third, Stefari Tarnhuvud of Sweden ran 6.72, his pb for fourth. In fifth, Hannu Hamalainen of Finland ran 6.75, and Aleksandr Shpaer of Russia ran 6.75 for sixth, Believe it or not, all six moved on!
heat 5
Jonathan Astrand of Finland won here, in 6.70, his pb. Aleksandr Linnik of Belarus ran 6.70, his pb, for second. Dwain Chaimbers of Great Britain ran 6.71 for third and Angel David Rodriguez of Spain ran 6.74 for the final qualifying spot in the 60 meters.
Here is what our friend, Monsieur Lemaitre, the rock star of French athletics (well, next to Teddy Tamgho), had to say, after his round. Lemaitre was quite talkative, while Mr. Chambers was getting his mean on…(preparing for the upcoming races…):
“This heat was maybe the hardest rac for me, but it helps me to really come in the competition. Since Thursday, I was very excited and impatient to run. Now, everything gonna be easy, And I am sure that I will run a lot faster as soon as the semi-final. My start was not perfect at all, but I am finally getting back my last season’s reaction times. I have always dreamt about doing a great championships in France. So, I want to get a medal even more than usual.
photo by PhotoRun.net
The nature of the women’s pole vault is such that the quality of the performances continue to improve on a global basis. For example, today, om auto-qualifier was 4.55m, which, not too long ago, was much higher than most of the women’s national records. Today, nine women cleared 4.55m, and fourteenth place was 4.35m. 4.55m became the new NR in Finland, Greece and Belarus and 4.35m became the new standard in Ireland.
Anna Rogowska of Poland opened at 4.45m and skipped 4.50m, to clear 4.55m, both on her first jumps. Elizaveta Ryzih of Germany cleared 4.35m, 4.45m, and then 4.55m, to be the second ranked vaulter. Silke Spiegelburg of Germany cleared 4.35m, 4.45m and also 4.55m to be the equal first with Rogowska and Ryzih.
In fourth place, Minna Nikkanen of Finland cleared 4.15m on her first attempt, took three attempts to clear 4.35m, then cleare 4.45m, thre attempts to clear 4.50m, and then, cleared 4.55m on her first attempt, establishing a new Finnish record!
Anastasiya Shvedova of Belarus cleared 4.15m, 4.35m, 4.45m, 4.50m, and took two attempts to clear 4.55m, a new Belarus record. Nikolia Kiriakopoulou, of Greece, cleared 4.15m, 4.35m, 4.45m, two attemtps to clear 4.50m, and two
attempts to clear 4.55, equaling the Greek NR.
Kristina Gadschiew of Germany cleared 4.35m, took two attempts to clear 4.45m, one to clear 4.50 and three attempts to clear 4.55m. Jirina Ptacnikova of the Czech republic, took three attempts to clear 4.35m, one for 4.45m, one for 4.50m, and three for 4.55m, and became the final qualifier for the final.
Silke Spiegelberg, WC 2009, photo by PhotoRun.net
Povh-Pohrebnyak-Ryeman-Bryzhina, Split 2010, photo by PhotoRun.net
60 meters, Women, Qualifying
heat 1
Ezinine Okparaebo of Norway took the first heat, running 7.21. In second was Veronique Mang of France, running 7.27, in third Manuela Levorato of Itlay in 7.34 and in fourth, Digna Luz Murillo of Spain, running 7.35. The first four moved on.
heat 2
Olesya Povh (see her in picture), of the Ukraine, won here, in 7.18. Yeoryia Kokloni of Greece took second in 7.28, with LIna Grincikaite of Lithuania ran 7.28, a pb for third, and Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands in fourth, in 7.30. All four moved on.
heat 3
Hystyna Stuy of the Ukraine (also in picture from Split 2010), won heat three in 7.27, with Myriam Soumare of France in second in 7.27, Jodie Williams of Great Britain, the young star, in third in 7.31 and Allis McSweeney of Ireland as last qualifier from heat 3, in 7.38.
heat 4
Mariya Ryemyen of Ukraine made it three Ukraine winners in four heats here, winning in 7.17, the fastest of the day. Bernice Wilson of Great Britain was second in 7.30, Sonia Tavares of Portugal was third in 7.36 and Inna Eftimova of Bulgaria was fourth in 7.37. All four moved to next round.
High jump, Women, qualifying
Antoinetta Di Martino of Italy, who cleared 2.04m this winter, cleared 1.80m, 1.85m, 1.89m, 1.92m, and 1.94 m, all on her first attempts. Svetlana Shokolina of Russia did exactly the same clearances, getting the 1.94m auto as well.
Venelina Veneva-Mateeva of Bulgaria cleared 1.80m, 1.85m, took two attempts at 1.89m, two attempts at 1.92m and cleared 1.94m on first attempt.
Melanie Melfort of France, quite popular with the crowd, cleared 1.75m, 1.80m, both on first attempts, took two attempts to clear 1.85m, one attempt at 1.89m, 1.92m and two to clear her seasonal best of 1.94m.
Ebba Jungmark of Sweden cleared 1.80m, 1.85m, 1.89m, with three to clear 1.92m, and two to clear 1.94m, her personal best.
Danielle Frenkel of Israel cleared 1.80m, 1.85m, 1.89m, 1.92m, and three attempts to clear 1.92m, setting a NR for Israel.
Oksansa Okuneva of the Ukraine cleared 1.80m, 1.85m, took two at 1.89m, two to clear 1.92m, and three to clear 1.94m, her new personal best.
Ruth Beitia of Spain took two to clear 1.75m, then cleared 1.80m, 1.85m, 1.89m and 1.92m on her first attempts. She made three attempts at 1.94m, but 1.92m gave her the final position in the final.
Antonietta Di Martino made this comment after the high jump Qualifying:
“The qualification had exactly the scenario I expected. I did not put much speed in my jumps. I just focused on the right position of my feet. Tomorrow, I will have to speed it up as the competition will not be easy. I expect all of my competitors to jump very high and it will be very open final.”
3,000 meters, Women, Qualifying
Heat 1
Dolores Checa of Spain lead the pack through the first kilometer in 3:02.76, and the 2,000m mark in 6:00.58. This was the deeper heat, as seven of the eight finishers made the final. Sultan Haydar of Turkey won the heat in 9:03.50. Yelena Zadorozhnaya of Russia was second in 9:04.03. In third, Dolores Checa, the pacer, ran 9:04.06. In fourth, Oleysa Syreva of Russia ran 9:04.06 also. In fifth, Nataliya Tobias of the Ukraine ran 9:05.57, a personal best. In sixth, Christine Bardelle of France, moved on with her 9:08.15, and in seventh, Paula Gonzalez of Spain ran 9:10.37.
Heat 2
After Helen Clitheroe lead through the kilometer in 3:07.02 and through 2,000 meters, in 6:03.27, controlling the race unti
l the final lap. Clitheroe allowed Layes Abdoulleyeva of Azerbijan to win in 9:00.80. Clitheroe held second in 9:01.45. In third, Polands Lidia Chojecka ran 9:06.44, with Natalya Popkova of Russia in fourth in 9:13.85 and the final qualifier being Roxana Barca of Romania in 9:17.29.
Defending champion Alemitu Bekele of Turkey pulled out around halfway, with an injury, and Poland’s Syvlia Edjys withdrew, with most believing that she was saving herself for the 1,500m final.
